The inaugural SS Coachella is in the books. The first run from Ft Lauderdale to Bahamas(and back again) is docked. The hipstershave walked the plank (off the ship).
My wife, Luisa, and I were two of those passengers. Not saying we are hipsters (we have notattoos after all). But, we were two ofthose on this epic maiden journey.
I write this on my flight back from Miami to San Diego justa few hours after we left the ship. Myhead is still groggy and a bit foggy from the continuous near 24-7 music andRed Bull-fueled concoctions on the ship. But, my head is absolutely clear about one thing – i.e., that SS Coachellawas one for the ages. And, I want to getmy thoughts down right now while the memories are still fresh in the head. So, forgive the lack of organization inpresenting them.So, what was SS Coachella? It was a music festival and life-time “experience” in every sense of theword. Every best sense of the word. Yes, SS Coachella is a business (more on thatlater), but the real fuel powering this maiden voyage was passion for music andpassion for bringing the music to life in a never-before-seen package. A new experience on the high seas. Here’s my one word summary of the experience– EPIC!
I have attended several Coachellas. Luisa hadn’t. I love the crowds and energy. Luisa doesn’t. I love music(scratch that, am possessed by it). Luisaisn’t. So, when the good folks atCoachella announced its bold new SS Coachella experience (experiment), they hadme at “hello” – I booked the cruise at moment one. Luisa had no choice -- she knows my passionfor music). Nevermind the fact thatneither of us had ever been on a cruisee. In fact, we don’t consider ourselves to be “cruise people.’ But, we were in.And, we have become cruise people -- at least, as itpertains to SS Coachella.
Here’s the thing – EVERYthing about SS Coachella was highend. That goes for the ship (thestunningly beautiful Celebrity Silhouette). That goes for the food (I counted at least 15 restaurants, and I am sureI am missing some). That goes for thelibations (all top shelf). That goes forthe staging and special events (including a behind-the-scenes “making of” panelwith the top brass that makes Coachella happen). And, of course, that goes for the music. If you like indie music (which I do) – and ifyou like world-class DJs (which I do) – then the music and the scene are aboutas good as it gets.
Let’s start with the music. I confess. I didn’t “get” some ofthe choices (Pulp, as the headliner?). But, it worked. So, while Ididn’t check out Pulp, most others did. And, they raved. My “must see”bands were Yeasayer and Warpaint. Yeasayer played once (on the first night). Warpaint played twice (on nights 2 and 3). Those were great shows. Yeasayer played the main stage. Killed it. Warpaint played the Sky Lounge – I was right in front for both shows. Who knew the four female band members were soyoung. Or, such great livemusicians. But, they were. Warpaint impressed, hoodies and all.
Who else? Grimes. Predictably compellingand mysterious. Good show. Great environment. How can you not love dancers in the fog. Then there was Hot Chip on the last night(last night). Great energy. Great fun. They turned the main stage into a dance party. Sleigh Bells. Wall of blistering sound. Even if you aren't the biggest fan (which I'm not), was a good show with amped up energy.There were the DJs, of course. All throughout the ship. Pool-side all day and night (Luisa and Ididn’t even get off the ship in the Bahamas – why leave when we had the partyright there on the ship?). The DJs wereon the top of the ship in the grass-y area – think of it as the mini polofields of Coachella (yes, real grass up there -- real hanging out, but withoutthe blistering desert heat). In nooksand crannies all over the ship (even spinning as we first entered the ship onday 1 – classic). As Luisa and Iexplored the pre-sunrise hours at 6:15 am this morning less than 2 hours beforedisembarking, we heard thumping beats emanating from the micro-encapsulatedNeptune lounge – where DJ Alf Alpha was still spinning with one guy gyrating onthe dance floor, one guy passed out on a couch, and a group of die-hard SSCoachella’ns (led by our personal favorite, Jared from Australia and his GoPro-toting side-kick) just leaving for a pre-disembarkation post-party in “Room7 double 2 7”) – yes, he asked us to join them in that room for the party (butby that point we were utterly exhausted -- that’s a compliment to theevent)!
And, that’s what the spirit of this entire voyage was like-- camaraderie forged by love of music. Love of experiences. Love of life. Jared was classic. So was the GoPro guy. You are on a ship after all, soyou run into the same people again and again. And that was a lot of the fun. And, for every Jared, there were the two lifelong friends from Mexicowho were inspired by the experience and vowed to devote their careers topassion projects (not just finance). And, there was that couple who too happened to be from San Diego andjust loved the music. He left his job of15 years just recently and is inspired to pursue music in some form. We all sat in bars together – talking to eachother – and to those around us (be it a DJ, be it a Coachella exec, be itanyone else). On this ship – on thisvoyage – we all just “were” together. And all of us felt fortunate to be together. THAT was the coolest part of the whole thing. Each of us was an actor in this grandproduction. Some more colorful thanothers (literally – tattoos and dyed hair everywhere). But, all fans. The water surrounded us on the ship. But, we were immersed in the music! Everywhere we went – every hour of the day –indie/dance music was playing. For a guylike me, that’s what heaven sounds like.
SS Coachella also marked a grand social experiment for thisship full of twenty and thirty-something hipsters (I was on the upper end ofthe full spectrum). For three nights andtwo full days, we essentially had no contact with the outside world. No cell coverage. No wi-fi (unless you paid through the nosefor it in the “i-Lounge”, which virtually no one did). Remember, we were in open waters – no celltowers out there. There was no lookingdown on your smart phone at all during this voyage. Instead, we engaged actually … not virtually. We looked heads up at each other … not withour heads down. We talked. We met. We shared our favorite bands. Weshared anecdotes. We lived in themoment. We lived the experience. It was beautiful. I can’t even recall ever doing this before inthe past 15 years – is it even possible to truly tune out anymore? This was almost tribal. One tribe of connected people sharing a lovefor the music. I hope that part of SSCoachella never changes. You don’t needan app for that!
Back to the ship. Celebrity Cruises, you shocked the hell out of me. The Silhouette is a stunning ship. Slick. Cool. Clean. Spotless. Meticulous attention to detail. Think of it as a “W” Hotel on the high seas. It was that good. I can’t imagine a cruise ship besting thisone. And, I certainly can’t imagine abetter setting for taking Coachella on a cruise in the middle of theCaribbean. Well done SS Coachellateam! I could go on and on – but justcheck out some of the pics I will add to this post later – that is the best way to get an idea. But, even these pics don’t do the boatjustice. You must experience it.
Back to the food and drink. Endless. And, here’s shocker #2 –as I mentioned above, the food and drink were all high end. For many on this cruise (well, virtuallyeveryone), booze was a priority. All topshelf. And plentiful. Bars were located everywhere on this ship –literally everywhere.
But, at a certain point, even the most rail-thin hipstermust eat,. Music feeds the soul, but thestomach also craves. So, eat wedid. Again, I cannot even begin to dothe food justice by trying to describe it here. For me, the gastro-highlights were these – endless varieties offood. Essentially whatever you wanted,whenever you wanted it. Highlight 2 -- Iam a steak guy. So, on night 1 Luisa andI tried the steak house on the upper deck adjacent to the mini Coachella grasspolo field. I know, a dangerous move toorder steak on a ship. What are the oddsthat it could be good? Odds were, butthe execution wasn’t. One of the beststeaks I have had for a long long time. And to dispel the notion that this was an aberration, Luisa and I made areturn engagement on night 3 where I had not 1, not 2 but … somewhatdisgustingly … 3 filets. Allperfect. All that matched the quality ofthe first I experienced on night 1.
How about the ship’s crew? Always professional. Alwayscourteous. Always helpful. Always wanting to give more. Hard working people. Not an easy life, but they did it well. Again, kudos to Celebrity Cruises – andthanks to the largely Eastern European staff (which was especially endearing tome, since I am Eastern European). It wasclear that most of the staff were in a persistent state of bemusementthroughout the voyage, understandably. This was not quite the usual crowd for them. The music was louder (much). The drinking was plentiful (apparently theper capita consumption broke records). The average age was younger (significantly). And the hipster quotient was off the charts. This was not your father’s cruise experience. This was rock and roll after all baby – andthe crew clearly loved it.
Finally, a shout-out to the Coachella folks. Those whom I met followed the same themesalready mentioned. They love music. They love to create experiences. And, they loved to create an entirely newkind of experience that pleased all of us. That really does matter to them. Of course they need to run a business. AEG is behind it after all. Expectations are high. But, thegood folks behind Coachella (and now SS Coachella) know that the experiencefirst must be unlike no other and at the highest levels. All else flows from that. If they invest to do it right now (which theydid), it will pay dividends.
But, these things also take time. And, these folks know that better than anyoneelse. Coachella itself took years toturn a profit – but look at it now. Itis a juggernaut. SS Coachella is clearlystarting in the same way its established cousin did. High ambition and execution not yet matchedby the attendance it deserves. The wordI heard is that the ship was about 50-60% of capacity. For those of us attending, it was the perfectstorm – all of the benefits discussed above and in setting in which we hadplenty of room to breath. We all lovedit. But, the bean counters at AEG maynot … unless, again, they take a breath and understand what this is and theneed to invest in it to make it truly lasting.This thing – this SS Coachella – is a different animal thanCoachella itself. Coachella is massive,sweaty endurance test of music that is accessible (price-wise) to many. It is an amazing experience itself, it is jusplain different. SS Coachella, on theother hand, is of course significantly pricier – and, accordingly, it is moreexclusive. SS Coachella will build and succeedvia word of mouth. If given the chanceto grow, SS Coachella will grow and succeed not only experientially, but alsoas a business.
And, I can tell you this. This writer – and his wife – will rave about this experience to everyonewe know. We already have as soon as wegot off the ship. We are already planningto go next year if SS Coachella will have us – and we will bring friends. Most likely we will be joined byseveral. And, that’s because theexperience was unlike no other. It wasunforgettable. It was something I willnever forget. For a music fan, it waslike being in heaven … seriously.
So, AEG – the powerful word of mouth is there. We are already talking up next year’scruise. Give SS Coachella the patienceto grow, and it will. And, it willbecome an operational success and highly profitable endeavor. It will also further propagate the Coachellabrand. Take it into new waters, if youwill.
Were there some mis-steps on this first SS Coachella? Of course there were. Any ambitious new project is a learningexperience. For me, the only realdisappointment was that there was absolutely no official SS Coachellamerchandise on the ship. No SS Coachellat-shirts, hats, tote bags that we could bring home for ourselves or as gifts tofriends and our kids. Not only wouldthose have been lifelong mementos of this classic slice of time, but they alsowould have amplified the buzz about SS Coachella. After all, wearing a tshirt or hat is greatand powerful advertising.
But, the missteps were few and far between. In fact, the whole ship operated like awell-oiled machine (at least, from what we could see).
SS Coachella – amazing time. Amazing experience. Was very verycool to be part of the very first one. For those of us on it, we all felt that way – you could really tell.
I envy those now on the second leg to Jamaica. They are on the top deck now sitting in theoversized Adirondack Chairs listening to killer beats.
Count us in for next year. We are already spreading the word.
This is a voyage that most certainly deserves tosail again
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